KCPD uncovers subterranean suburb on northeast side

Summary

April 9, 2013: The police of Kansas City, Missouri have uncovered a tunnel and cave system used by the homeless of the area, which was described as "an underground suburb".

Source

Bibliography

1. Original article

2. Arcana Wiki Map entry

Game and Story Use

• If the homeless are willing and able to build such a system in our world, in one of the most prosperous nations on Earth, then this might certainly be a recurring feature elsewhere.
  • Of course, these people might not have considered themselves homeless - they might have considered themselves quite adequately housed, albeit in a settlement that happened not to have government approval. Almost certainly homeless now…
• Gives a (w)hole new meaning to "living below the grid" - and frankly this is only likely to become more prevalent as your setting becomes more authoritarian and dystopic: alternative economies, disconnected from the "real" taxed and surveilled economy and (at least partially) underground to escape detection.
  • PCs might need to make contact with such a culture for various black market goods and services - "mole people" NPCs might make very useful contacts.
  • PCs might originate in such a sub-culture and be faced with the real possibility of being a non-person as far as society at large is concerned. In some dystopiae this may be a crime in itself, otherwise it may just be enough to have them assumed to be a criminal or illegal alien.
  • PCs fleeing the law might be able to take refuge with such a sub-culture.
  • As per Deus Ex terrorists (or resistance volunteers) might infiltrate, subvert or displace mole people from their tunnels - the appearance of more dossers on the streets might be a warning sign that something or someone else is in the tunnels. Come to think of it, it might not be humans driving them out.
  • If this grows large enough, it might become an independent city-state-within-a-city with its own government, imports and exports, and border guards posted at the tunnel entrances.
• Speaking of which, CHUD anyone?